Philippa York believes UAE Team Emirates need to put pressure on Visma and Vingegaard by "sending riders on the attack or to infiltrate a breakaway"

'11' probably won't become Tadej Pogacar's favourite number. For the second time in last three years, it is on the eleventh day of the Tour de France that he is dealt a heavy blow by Jonas Vingegaard. As it is now became evident the two are not as worlds apart as some may have thought, we can only look forward to the battle in remaining stages.

"I wasn’t surprised to see Tadej Pogacar attack, there’s something about that section which sucks the life out of you," Philippa York spoke from personal experience in her column at Cyclingnews. "No one was expected to be able to go with or chase him down but Vingegaard did. That Vingegaard stayed seated and allowed Primoz Roglic to attempt the first pursuit was a very wise decision. He didn’t go into the red as he would have done if he had followed Pogacar’s attack and ultimately that saved him."

It's not the first time we have seen the Slovenian lock out at this part of the Tour. Stage 11 also dealt fatal blow to the Pogacar's hat-trick ambitions two years ago. "There was a hint of the 2022 Tour and the Col du Granon where Pogacar struggled or forgot to feed correctly. Did he misjudge his nutrition and especially his hydration? He seemed very weary on the Col de Petrus and in the sprint to the line."

Did UAE Team Emirates take a lesson from Wednesday? Perhaps a frontal attack strategy may not work anymore. "They now know just how good Vingegaard is and the threat he is. When they thought he would be weakening, he is becoming stronger. Burning up the likes of Adam Yates and Joao Almeida for an announced Pogacar attack, no longer looks like such a good idea. Juan Ayuso falling down the rankings tells us that he’s been worn out prematurely."

According to York, UAE Team Emirates shouldn't gamble everything on Pogacar winning against Vingegaard head-to-head, and instead try to put additional pressure at the Dane, using their three pawns in the top 10. "With some big climbing days to come the team has to look to pass some of the pressures onto Visma and Vingegaard. It would be better to put pressure on them by sending riders on the attack or to infiltrate a breakaway. UAE Team Emirates have three riders in the top ten and so can be creative and aggressive."